Apparatus for baling presses



April 30, 1929- V M. c. NIXON 1,710,942

APPARATUS FOR BALING PHESSES Filed April 23, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet L mum 7 "I E*EL I I L I Z 1 10 9 ill? fTufen'to n April 30, 1929. M. c. NIXON APPARATUS FOR BALING PRESSES 5 shoets sheet 2 Filed April23, 1927 April 30, 1929. I M. c. NIXON APPARATUS FOR BALING PRESSESI Filed April 23. 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 7f Patented Apr. 30, 1929. l l v V UNITED STATES PATENT E;

Application filed April 23, 1927. Serial No. 186,080.

My invention relates to improvements to cally resumes operation and the gate is auto- 50 apparatus adaptable to baling presses. matically Withdrawn from the chute so that It is one of the objects of my invent-ion to the material may flow from the chute into provide a press having a reciprocating plungthe press box. er adapted to camp or press the material in a The invention consists in the novel consuitahle press box in which the driving means structions, arrangements and devices to be 55 for the plunger so arranged that the plunghereinafter described and claimed for carryer is substantially at rest during a portion of ing out the above stated objects and such each cycle of operation thereby affording opother objects as will appear from the follow portunity to feed the material into the press ing description of a certain preferred em box between the time the plunger is withbodiinent illustrated in the accompanying 0 drawn from the press box and the time it redrawings of Wl'llCh, enters the press box again thereby materially Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of which shortening the distance traveled by theplungan apparatus embodying the principles of my or when out of the press box and thus making invention, the feed chute and mechanism as it feasible to make the apparatus much more sociated therewith having been omitted 65 compactand eturdier in construction than has Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of been possible heretofore. the apparatus taken on the line 2-2 of Fig.

A further object of my invention is the 1 showing the feed chute and its associated provision of means whereby the mechanism feeding mechanism attached to the apparafor imparting movement to the plunger may tus. l p y 7 be readily locked against operation Whenever Fig. 3 is a plan view. I a rhesired as for instance when moving or shift- Fig. 4: is a sectional view on an enlarged ing the press box and the like. scale taken on the line 4-4 of Fig.2.

hily invention conten'iplates the provision Fig. 5 is a detail viewof the clutch and assoof a chute for feeding the material into the ciated parts through which power is trans- 7 press box in combination with suitable feedmi tied to the feeder shaft. iug mechanism and it is another object of my Fig. 6 is a sectional view on an enlarged invention to provide improved means where scale taken on the line 66 of Fig. 1.

so by feeding of the material into the press box Fig. ,7 is a sectional view ,on an enlarged may be automatically cut off when the pl ungscale taken on the line 77 of Fig. 1. or descends into the press box and will remain Fig. 8 adetail view on an enlarged scale cut off until after the plunger has been Withshowing the manner in which the pitman is drawn therefrom. connected to the drive chains; and l H 35 More specifically my invention contenb Fig. 9 is a sectional View taken on the line plates the :n'ovision of rotatable material 9-4) of Fig.8. r o y by S5 feeding mechanism in the chute in comhina- Like characters of reference indicate like tion with a gate which is adapted to swing parts in the differentviews. a y into posi hi1 to check the flow of material The plunger operating mechanism of the through the chute; and it is another object press or tamper is mounted on a frame com:

of my invention to provide means operating prising; a pair ofrelatively Wide inturned automatically for stopping the operation of channel IIIOIIIlJGI'S 10, which have theirlmven the feeding mechanism and for swinging the ends firmly secured, in any suitable manner, grate into closed position as the plunger debetween a pair of trzmsversely extending supsecuds into the press box, said feeding niechporting channels 11, reinforced by angles lil anism remaining non-rotative and the grate firmly secured to said frame members and the remaining in closed position until the plunger supporting channels. The supporting chan has been withdrawn from the press box nels 11 may be supported by any su table whereupon the feeding mechanism automatimeans not illustrated The ui iper ends of less chains 34:, as by wrist-pin 34. vith its the channel members 10 are disposed between a pair of traniwersely extending; ca 13, which are secured to the channel members 10 by bolts 14, the bolts extending through elongated slots 15, provided in said 'astings, thus making it possible to raise and lower the ca ings on the channel members 10.

The reciprocating frame that carries the plunger includes a pair of vertically extending members, which may be in the form of I- beams, w ich. are secured together at their upper ends by a. transverse bar 17 and are braced by the cross ars 18. At their lower ends these I-heams extend between and are secured to a pair of t'ansverse members 19, as by bolts E20, reinforced by firmly securing angle members 21 to the l'heains and the members 19.

To the miderside of members 19 are secured a plur: l ity of sh ts 22, spaced apart for purposes that hereinafter will appear. The I-bez'uns are slidably disposed within the channel frame members 10 and to this end sui able bearings E23 are bolted to the inner-sides of the frame channel members 10, the inner and side faces of said bearings coengaging the web and flanges of the Lbeams 16 and serves as guides on wnich the I-heams may freely slide.

The operating mechanism for the plunger includes a drive shaft 24, with a peir of pinions E25 firmly secured thereto and meshing with gears 26, respectively. As i est shown in F 2, a stul shaft 27 is disposed at each side one end of each shaft being supported. in a bearing carried by housing plates 28, said plates being secured to the fran'ie members 10, as by bolts 29, wl'iile the other end of shafts; 9/? are disposed in bearin provided. in a plate 30, which is secured to plate. 28, as by bolts 31. A sproiuret wheel 32 is loosely mounted on each of the stub shafts 2i and the outer hub of said spre :l-i'et wheels or;- tend into the hub of the adjacent gear 536, which is firmly seen thereto, as by keys 58. A pair 0 endless chains 3d: operates over the sprocket wheels and travel in a triangular path and to this end the I are trained over sprocket wheels 35 ancTZlG. The sprocket wheels 35 and 36 are mounted on shor stub shafts 37, one end of each shaft being supported in a beariiug; former in the adjacent casting 13 and the other end of the shaft bein supported in a bearing; provided in a. b 'aclqct 3S integrally formed. with the adjacent casting 13. A pitman 39 is pivotnlly connected at its lower end to a fastening; device formed of a pair of plates 40 with a filler ell. se ured between and to the plunger members 19 as by bolts 41. The pitnian 39 at its upper end pivotelly connected between a it to the endrespective ends secured to means 34 carried by a pair of pivot pins extending inwardly from each. of the endless chains (see Figs. 8 and 9), thereby forming an operative connection between the chains Ell and the pitnmn $9. The pitman may be of any suitable construction but preferably comprises l, pair of channel members d2 disposed so that their llangcs c. tend toward full length members disposed between the channel members. Fastening means such. as rivets id extending: through the ehanncil members d2 and the tiller blochs d3 securely fastening the channel members together against the opposite sides of the filler blocks, there by torn log a rigid structure.

It will now e apparent that upon rotating the drive shaft 2d the endless chains ill will l e aused to more over the SIHOCliQi'F; 1'32. 35 and 36 in a triangular putln shown in l 1, there, by imparting a reciproeatingr morcineut to the plunge and causing the latter to descend i. to and he witlulrnwn from the press box It will he nmcd tha t the phing cr is substantially at rest while the upper end of the pitman 39 trav is with the chains orer the sprockets J5 end 36 th re being; sul shuitiolly no inovon'ient iniported to the plunger while the upper end of the pitman is mining in a1nthsubstantiallyatrigrhtan cs heline of movement of the plunger. c

Llii e the plunger is at rest a portion of the tin 3 when out of the press hora, it allords on opportun' J, to feed the material. into i bot. wi. out the moving ilungrcr inter? I The niechan'isn for operatin t! e plunger permits tire apparatus as a whole to he posi tioned closer to the p s bOIE anl the lower lJ-OdllIIPS 23 for the reciprocatin I-lieiuns 10 "l i to the us 1i p ui'igger when in its lowermost position of trarrl, t ion wouldbe he race if the upper end ,f the pitinan 39 vcre not carr ed around in a tr her path m: l scribed inn; screws do are I. and hear on the en s 4 f the frame chiuu'iels ll) It will be obvious t 1st by loosening the nuts on the bolts ll tlnit the screws ll may be turned down, which results in moving the 'ustings 1.3 farther away from the sprocket thereby ti,g'l'ite1i.ii1gtlie chains Set.

The means for driving the shaft Ell (Silk prises a driven pulley l7 looscl mounted on the shaft. A spider member l-tl being firmly secured to the shaft, as by hey it), said spill r n'icinher arr ving radially slidahle friction shoes 50. A hub member 51 ilidahlr iuoi'u died on the shaft and the key ill), and liniis F53 rounet-ting the hub member with the friction shoes, so that when the nienibe 51 is moved toward the spider member the friction shoes engage a friction ring 53 carried hr the pulley, the ar 'angeinent being such that when the parts are in the position shown in Fig.1. i, the pulley is rixed to th 1 shaft iel and drives the latter. it is flOfillOllflj desirable to locl: the mechanism for reciprocating the I'lllllllltd against movement, particularly when i'cmoving the bale box, to prevent the plunger threaded in the ctr-r1 ii each other, with llll 1- blocks, or

llii

1 Lllj from descending by gravity to said-box and interfering with the baling operations, and to this end I have provided a stationary member 54, which is carried by parts secured to the frame of the press. The clutch is normally operated by lever 55. It will be noted from Fig. 4 that the adjacent faces of the member 51 and the stationary member 54.- are provided with teeth which are adapted to co-engage. The parts are so ar 'anged that when the hub 51 is shifted toward the pulley -17 the pulley is locked to the shaft 24 and when the hub member 51 is shifted in the opposite direction the pulley is free to turn on the shaft and the hub member 51 nonrotatably engages the member 54 thereby locking the shaft 24 against rotation and preventing movement of the plunger and the operating parts.

The means for feeding the material to the press box includes a feed chute 56 supported by bars 57 and 58 attached to the frame work and material may be supplied to this chute in any suitable manner. Means for feeding the material from the chute into the press box includes a driven shaft 59 which carries a plurality of feed fingers 60. The shaft 59 carries a pulley 61 wl1ich may be driven by any suitable means, for instancea belt, not shown. I preferably also provide means for cutting oil the flow of material through the chute at certain times during the operation of the apparatus and to this end I have provided a gate 63 adapted to be swung into and out of position with respect to the chute 56. The gate comprises a plurality of fingers secured to a rock-shaft 65 journalled in suit-- able bearings secured to the feed chute. The free ends of the fingers 64 are adapted to extend upwardly through suitable apertures provided in the bottom of the chute. Said apertures being protected by a plate 66, with a spacer between it and the bottom of the chute, the plate acts also as a. guide for the fingers.

The shaft 59, with its feed fingers 60, may be operated.continuously and the gate for cutting off the flow of material through the chute may be operated in any suitable manner but I prefer to operate the feeding and the cut-off mechanisms intermittently and to provide means for automatically starting and stopping the aforesaid mechanisms In the embodimentillustrated the pulley 61 is loosely mounted. on the shaft 59, and the clutch 67 is slidably mounted on and is rotatable with the shaft 59. Vhen theclutch 67 is in operative position the pulley 61 is fixed to and drives the shaft 59. The clutch 67 normally is maintained in non-operative position so that power to the feeding mechanisin is cut-off and the gate in the chute is normally maintained in closed position. The means for accomplishing these results preferably include an arm 68 fixed to the shaft 65,

the arm 68 carrying a weight 69 adapted to be adyustably positioned thereon. The

' 2, and thereby holds the gate in closed position in the chute. The shaft 65, also, carries an arm 70 which is connected by a rodj'il to an arm 7 2 fixed to the rock shaft 73,which is carried by supports 7 4 and a brace 74;". The rock-shaft 7 3 carries another arm 75, which is connected by a rod 7 5 to clutchoperating means 76 (see Fig. 5). The arm 75, red 75'- and means 76 are soarranged and constructed With respect to the clutch 67 that when the shaft 73 is rocked in .aclock-wise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, the clutch 67 is disena gaged from the pulley 61 and the operation of the feeding mechanism ceases. The weighted arm 68, therefore, normally maintains the gate for the feed chute in a closed position and normally cuts off the power from the feeding mechanism in the chute. In order to apply powerto the feeding mechanism and toopcn the gate automatically and at the proper time, I" have provided a shoe or plate 77 on one of the reciprocating I-beams 16. A bell-crank 78. pivoted to a bracket carried by the frame of the apparatus, has one arm connected by a rod? 9 to an arm SOfixed to the rock-shaft 73 (see Fig.3). One arm of the bell-crank 78 may be provided with'a 5 portion of theplate 77.

In operation, as the plungerreturns or moves upwardly the curve or upper end of the plate 77 engagesthe roller' or arm ofthe hell-cranl 78 and swings the lattercountcn clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, which also turns the roclcshaft 73 in-a counter-clockwise rollerfor enga ement with the end or curved a direction. Such movement of the rock-shaft 73 results in the clutch 67 being moved into engagement with the pulley 61', thereby connect ing the power to the shaft 59 and the feeding mechanism, and it also results in the shaft 65 being rocked in a clockwise direction thereby withdrawing the material cut-off mechanism from' the chute. Then the plunger descends tmvard thep'ress box the bell-crank 78 is permitted to swing in a cl0ckwise direction and the weighted arm 68 causes the shaft 65 to be rocked counter-clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, which moves the cut-off mechanism into position shown in dottedoub line, cutting off the flow of materialto the press box. The rock-shaft 65 when moved in a clockwise direction, through rod 71, rocks shaft 73 C()11Ilt0lt3l()tflflViSe and disconnects the clutch from the pulley 61, thereby stopping the feeding mechanism. By the arrangement described, power intermittently and automatically applied to the feeding mechanism and the operation of the cut-off mechanism is automatically controlled.

I do not intend to limit my invention'to the specific embodimentillustrated in thedrawings and described in the foregoing specification except only in so far as certain oi the appended claims are specifically so limited as it will be obvious that changes may be made Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the class described the combination of a press box in which the bale is termed, a reciprocating plun er operating in connection with said box, a iced chute for delivering material to said box, a gate pivoted to swing into and out of position in said chute, and operating means for said gate including a pivoted lever connected to said gatc,and means operable upon the upward strolce of said plunger for swinging said lever into position to open said gate, thereby permit-ting delivery of material from the chute to the bale box.

In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a bale box in which the bale is termed, a reciprocating}; plunger operating in connection with said box, a teed chute for delivering material to said box, a. Weightcontrolled gate pivoted to swing into closing position in said chute, and means for opening said gate including a pivoted lever connected to said gate and operable upon the upward stroke of the plunger for swinging said lever into position to open the gate, thereby permitting delivery of material from the chute to the bale box.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination oi a press box in which the bale is termed, a reciprocating plunger and operating means therefor, a feed chute for delivering material to said box and a gate pivoted to swing into and out of position in said chute, operating means for said gate including apivoted bellcranl: having one arm connected with said gate, and reciprocating means adapted upon the return stroke of the plunger to engage the other arm of the bellcrank thereby swinging the gate into open position and permitting); delivery of material from the chute to said box.

i. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a press box in which the bale is formed, a reciprocating plunger operating in connection With said box, a feed chute for delivering material to said box, a rock shaft extending transversely of said chute, a gate comprising a plurality oil? lingers fixed to said shaft and adapted to swing into and out of position in said chute, and operating means tor said gate including a pivoted lever conii'iected with said rock-shalt, and. means operable upon the return stroke oi? the plunger :tor swinging said lever thereby imparting a rocking movement to said shaft to open said gate and permitting delivery of material. 'lroui the chute to said box.

5. In apparatus of the class described, the combination oil a press box, a reciprocating plunger operating in connection with said box, a feed chute for delivering material to said box, a rock-shaft extending transversely underneath the chute, a gate adapted to swing into and out of position in said chute and comprising a plurality of fingers carried by said shaft and adapted to extend up \vardly through the bottom of the chute, and operating means for said gate including a pivoted lever connected to said rock-shalt, and means operable upon the return stroke of the phuiger for swinging said lever to rock said i-ihatt and withdraw the lingers from said chute and thus permitting delivery of material from the chute to said box.

6. In apparatus of the class described, the combination oi? a press box in which the halo is termed, a reciprocating plunger operating in connection with said box, a chute for delivering material to said box, feeding mechanism operating in said chute, material cutoil mechanism for said chute, Weight-controlled means normally holding said cut-oll' i'ncchanism in operative position and said feeding mechanism inoperative, and means operable upon the return stroke of the plunger for o vercoming the ellect of said Weight controlled means thereby vithdravving the cut-oil mechanism from the chute and cans ing said feeding mechanism to operate.

7 In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a press box, a reciprocating plunger operating in connection with said box, a chute for delivering material to said box, a rock-shaft beneath said chute, and a gate carried by said shaft and operable through the bottom of the chute whereby the flow of material maybe cut-oil from said box.

8. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a press box, a reciprocating plunger operating in connection with said box, a chute for delii 'ering material to said box, means for feeding material to said box, a rock-shaft beneath said chute, and a gate carried by said shaft and operable through the bottom of the chute whereby the flow of material may be cut-oil from said box.

9. In apparatus oi the class described, a reciprocating plunger, a pitman pivotally connected at one end to the plunger and power means embodying a triangularly disposed movable member connected to the other end'thereol and so arranged as to cause that end of the pitman to travel in a substantially triangular path, the side of said triangular path farthest from the plunger being substantially transverse with respect to the line of movement of the plunger whereby the plunger comes to a rest at the end of its out ward or non-Working stroke, for the purpose specified.

10. In apparatus of the class described, a reciprocating plunger, an endless flexible drive member, means for causing said flexible member to travel in a substantially triangular path with the side of said path farthest removed from the plunger in substantially a transverse position with respect to the line of movement of the plunger, a pitman pivotally connected at one end to said plunger and at its other end to said flexible member at a point such that its last named end travels through ward or non-Working stroke thereby causing 10 the plunger to be at rest at such time for tl e purpose specified. 1?

os'nso, NIXON, 

